Fabrications is a pop-up bazaar drawing inspiration from a traditional Persian marketplace. Taraneh Hemami, in this latest iteration of her Theory of Survival project, invites twelve California-based Iranian artists to join her in engaging with Iranian political and cultural historical moments, exploring decades of collective activism and revolutionary actions inside Iran and in its larger diaspora.

As an ongoing project, Theory of Survival responds to current and historic issues evoked by a historical archive belonging to the library of the Iranian Students Association of Northern California, active from 1964 to 1982. Publications and documents from the archive reflect Iranian and Bay Area history during the critical years between the CIA coup and the aftermath of the Iranian Revolution.

Within a labyrinth of niches and patterned archways, the Fabrications bazaar is a site for gathering and exchange: market booths overflow with handmade and manufactured objects; a library boasts a growing collection of publications and archives; and a teahouse becomes a stage for performances, games and storytelling. The artists of Fabrications transform, exalt and comment on the commodification of the graphic imagery of underground protest culture, exploring a web of connections between past and current radical movements across the globe.

Events

Opening Reception
Friday, September 5, 2014, 7:00 – 9:00 PM

Saturday Bazaars
Saturdays, September 6 – October 25, 2014, 12:00 – 6:00 PM
Bargain, buy and share every Saturday. Artists are on site hawking mementos of resistance, leading workshops and discussing their work. Visitors can browse the library or bring books, materials and personal histories to share. Workshops on specific dates to be announced.

Night Markets
Saturday, September 27 & October 18, 2014, 6:00 – 9:00 PM
These evenings of marketplace activities include performances, music and readings by Bay Area artists inspired by current events and traditional bazaar and teahouse activities. Play backgammon with Gelare Khoshgozaran, watch a performance by Ali Dadgar, listen to a DJ set of revolutionary songs by Ala Ebtekar, see a traditional Persian Naghali storytelling performance by Arash Fayez, amongst others.

Theory of Survival: Fabrications is project of Creative Capital, with additional support from Cal Humanities, California Institute for Integral Studies, Center for Cultural Innovation, California College of the Arts and the San Francisco Arts Commission Cultural Equity Grant Program through their Individual Artist Grant.